A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Prelude to Chapter 327

Su Sheng played the video, which appeared as a giant screen suspended in mid-air.

The roaring crowd instantly filled the entire screen.

Cars were smashed, billowing smoke and flames; walls were destroyed; pillars in the city tilted; entire buildings collapsed; and the bridge spanning the river broke in two.

The landmark building in F City, the "Sky Library" like a blue tower, is almost covered with messy human figures crawling and fighting.

You can even see some swift figures flying freely around the tall building, casually unleashing a series of explosive attacks.

These images were fabricated by Guan Luoyang.

It is true that the City God has the power to distinguish between truth and falsehood, but it depends on who is being distinguished.

Since Guan Luoyang possessed the true essence of the Heavenly Demon, and this was, after all, a game world, the string of data he fabricated by combining the Heavenly Demon's intent was practically flawless in front of the people in the orchard.

The environment in this video was created by him directly extracting environmental data from the urban area of ​​"City F".

Players who have lived in this city can easily discover many details in it, so after watching for only a short while, they were already convinced of the footage.

[That's right, this is definitely a video only a game operator could produce. In other words, this could really be a glimpse into the future of the Promised Land, the urban district?!]

What are the game operators up to? If this really happens, won't the living environment in the city be even worse than in reality? Which player would want to log in then?

The players started discussing it intensely.

[To be honest, this character is superfluous. The main storyline, the player base, and the Chosen One all need to unlock the inner world; it's an inevitable trend. He suddenly jumps out and goes against the tide—can he really stop so many people?]

[Should the Otherworld still be open? Did they create this NPC simply to warn us of a potential zombie crisis? Wouldn't it be easier to just add that to the quest information?]

[Wait, wait, don't you guys think this person might actually be a protagonist template? These chosen ones in the urban area all seem like protagonists, and this one who returned from the apocalypse is quite similar.]

"Hmm, now that you mention it, it's true. The sudden apocalypse shattered my peaceful life. I struggled for years in a world teeming with zombies, losing my confidante, my friends and family all met tragic ends, and I might have even been betrayed by my brothers and sold out by my ex-girlfriend. Now, reborn, I must rely on my foresight to defy fate!"

That's right, befriend some powerful figures who haven't yet reached their full potential, eliminate some rivals who haven't yet matured, then crush the scum, avenge your defeats, seize power, resolve the apocalyptic crisis, and reach the pinnacle of life.

[I think I've read those post-apocalyptic rebirth novels you guys are talking about. Do the protagonists gradually transform from rough men into goddesses? And by the later stages, just a casual appearance is enough to make people fantasize and be completely captivated by their looks and charisma?]

[Holy crap, what kind of weird book are you reading?]

[It's in a library in the city center. I heard that city center libraries usually collect books that were quite famous centuries ago.]

[Stop, stop! Most post-apocalyptic novels are simply stories about a protagonist who is reborn and enjoys a power fantasy; their gender doesn't change.]

Let's get back to the main point. If this apocalyptic "Chosen One" is meant to prevent the opening of the Otherworld, wouldn't that be going against the player base? After all, the mission information doesn't lie; even with some crises, it shouldn't dampen players' enthusiasm for obtaining treasures like the Heart of the World, right?

I'm not so sure!

The great hero Yue Buqun from Jiangnan also jumped in and posted a message in the group. As the group owner, his message was quite eye-catching.

The phrase "I don't think so" stands out even more when expressed using an emoji.

He continued speaking.

[Think about it, his goal is to prevent the Inner World from being opened, so what should he do now? Of course, he should stop the actions of the other Chosen Ones. But apart from Su Sheng here and those Chosen Ones whose identities are still unknown, like Zhao Lingtian and Zhuang Gujian, who else seems willing to listen to advice?]

The weak scholar fears the Master: [That's right. The chosen ones are destined to fight each other. In the first half, even if this doomsday chosen one has different motives, in practice, he will still have to participate in the chaos. We can unite his forces to take down the other chosen ones.]

Lie's Arm: [After we've taken down everyone else, should we stab Guan Luoyang in the back?]

Our beloved leader: [It doesn't necessarily have to be this way. After all, the main body of the corpse poison is in the inner world. If we truly gain complete control, we can try to persuade him to voluntarily enter the inner world and eradicate this threat.]

"The Great Hero of Jiangnan, Yue Buqun," summarized and set their next steps: "What happens after we seize the initiative can wait until then. For now, our priority is to unite and gather as much fighting force as possible!"

Inside the orchard, the shocked crowd expressed their unwillingness to see this future become a reality.

They were all very curious about how Guan Luoyang had come from three years ago to now. Some players felt that there might be some hidden side quest in this secret, but no one was in a hurry to ask this question.

Su Sheng was anxiously trying to find out some key clues about the outbreak of the zombie crisis.

"During those three years, the external environment became increasingly harsh and fraught with danger. My strength was limited, and my scope of activities was naturally also limited. I was unable to personally experience many major events; I only heard about them from afar and learned about them belatedly."

Guan Luoyang let out a deep sigh and said, "For example, I only know that Zhao Lingtian is a key figure in opening the inner world, but I don't know exactly where they opened it."

"Later, I heard some news about Boss Su and Brother Qi. You two guarded the area and protected many people. Unfortunately, some ambitious people in that environment still wanted to fight for power and profit and caused internal strife, which led to Boss Su being swallowed up in the zombie horde. Brother Qi later had no choice but to join Zhuang Gujian, but he was torn apart by five horses in a fight. Later, it was said that your body was dug up and refined into a treasure."

Qi Dongqiang was staring at the image of the zombie horde in mid-air, still in shock, when he suddenly heard Guan Luoyang's words, and he was completely taken aback.

"What…" he stammered, "What, do I have to do with this? No, am I really that bad?!"

It has that feel to it!

The frail scholar, fearing the master, cheered in the group chat: "Looks like he's truly the template for a doomsday protagonist! This Qi Dongqiang is probably the kind of character who had immense potential in his past life, but unfortunately suffered a tragic fate and died young, yet is destined to shine brightly in this life!"

Young Jiang Liuer's Brutality Against Adults: [No, no, this Qi Dongqiang might not be a supporting character. I just checked through another group; take a look at Qi Dongqiang's resume.]

This player posted a long screenshot in the group, which was a compilation of important information extracted from several documents.

After seeing this, many players noticed a subtle change in their expressions when they looked at Qi Dongqiang again.

Guan Luoyang thought to himself, 'It's not easy. They finally noticed such a big protagonist right in front of them.'

"I think the most important thing to do right now is to eliminate Zhao Lingtian so that the world doesn't head towards that terrible future."

Guan Luoyang said to Su Sheng, "You have many Yin soldiers under your command. I wonder if you can find out Zhao Lingtian's exact location?"

Su Sheng said with great concern, "I had inquired about this before, but he has too many residences. The subordinates I sent to investigate this matter still don't even know how many houses he has, let alone pinpoint his exact location."

"However, we can't ignore this matter!"

Su Sheng made up his mind, "I will immediately send out all the ghosts and gods under my command to conduct a comprehensive search, and interrogate some members of the Zhao family by summoning their souls. I will not give up until I find out his whereabouts."

The great hero of Jiangnan, Yue Buqun, quickly said, "We can also help with this matter. Although we still need to rely on you, Boss Su, to get things done in the most critical moments, we are not just sitting around doing nothing. Everyone here is well-informed and has heard all sorts of things."

The players' information network is indeed quite efficient.

Even if they have vastly different stances in reality and belong to different factions in the game, they cannot avoid coincidental interactions, overlapping of some members in chat groups, deliberate infiltration, and so on.

Even if it's just a single player's interpersonal relationships, if you expand and trace them outwards section by section, you can spread this network of relationships to every city in the six districts of the Promised Land.

Especially now, with many players still flocking to the city center and not yet deciding which Chosen One's faction to join, the situation is chaotic, making it a good time to gather intelligence.

In the orchard, the group nominally separated and went their separate ways, but in reality, as soon as they left the orchard, they immediately started moving around through chat groups, player forums, and other platforms.

[Top Secret News. I'm only telling the brothers in this group, don't tell anyone else. The City God Su Sheng's faction now has more than just him as the Chosen One. We have three Chosen Ones banding together, we outnumber them and have the power, come quickly!]

The chivalrous Yue Buqun from Jiangnan forwarded this message to his 69 active player groups, and then he and his companions waited for the team application.

If we bring all these people in first, and tie everyone to the same boat, we'll have a much better chance of gathering information.

After all, some people might have originally wanted to join Zhao Lingtian's side, but after being pulled over, they can get a lot of useful information from the other Chosen Ones' camps by getting a little information out of them.

Of course, the information about Su Sheng and his team will inevitably be leaked as well.

But there's nothing to be afraid of. After all, the three chosen ones are real. Master Yue has always treated people with sincerity and has nothing to hide from others.

Anyway, apart from Su Sheng, Yue Daxia and his group of players still don't know the true strength of the other two.

This operation against Zhao Lingtian takes into account the possibility of other chosen ones interfering, making it unlikely that Zhao Lingtian can be completely eliminated in one fell swoop.

However, it would be good for everyone to test each other out and see what makes them genuine through this opportunity.

Guan Luoyang looked up at the sky from the orchard. Countless electromagnetic waves were spreading, intersecting, and surging more intensely throughout the game world.

The players in Su Sheng's faction are very resourceful, but the players in other factions are not to be underestimated either.

In large-scale main storyline events, players from different factions often wish for a massive explosion that would log off the opposing side within a day.

Not to mention in the game, even in the real wasteland world, they kill without any scruples. But that doesn't mean that during faction wars, they will all gather together and rush in to crush the enemy with brutal and direct methods.

On the contrary, apart from the Historical Domination section, players in other sections almost never form large groups of enemies and allies into square formations to directly clash.

Once each player faction is formed, it will quickly select its main combat force. Only this small group of people will stay by the side of the core of their faction—the Chosen One. All other players will be scattered and fight in small groups using their own familiar methods.

The game world will objectively calculate the contribution value of their squad within their own faction, so there's no need to worry about their achievements going unnoticed after fighting in obscure locations.

Therefore, before the many chosen ones even stepped onto the battlefield, and before their respective residences were locked, the players' battle had already begun.

In the twenty-six major cities of the metropolitan area, news about gas explosions, natural gas explosions, sewer explosions, and sudden collapses of buildings due to shoddy construction has become more frequent recently.

Sometimes, the footage in news reports isn't even shown. The host might say "gas explosion," but the screen will directly capture the players in the middle of the battle.

The original inhabitants of the game world quickly calmed down after a brief period of turmoil.

While the concept of "adaptation" exists in the real world, these natives of the game world have adapted far too naturally.

Guan Luoyang also vaguely sensed that some purely game characters had vanished into thin air.

This is because the artificial intelligence originally used to maintain the image and reactions of these indigenous people has been diverted to other places to assist in processing and calculating the changing details of massive numbers of players during battles.

However, some groups are different, for example... the Yin soldiers under the throne of Su Sheng.

Guan Luoyang observed that all the ghostly soldiers, spirits, and ordinary relatives and friends around Su Sheng possessed genuine spiritual fire.

They are not purely game characters; they are likely real people whose souls have been programmed into data, given new identities, and then projected onto the game.

Qi Dongqiang's friends are all in the same situation, and other chosen ones should be as well.

If the game life experienced by other players is already 99.9% realistic, then the realism of the lives of these chosen ones must be increased by a series of nines after the decimal point.

Relying solely on some hidden doors arranged in the early stages is certainly not enough to truly deceive these chosen ones with enormous potential. Only such a scheme could prevent them from fully realizing the truth of this game world even after they have grown to this level.

However, an experiment cannot succeed on the first try.

Currently, these chosen ones have all reached the eighth level of potential within them. Therefore, those experimental subjects who have not reached this level will obviously have similar experimental environments around them, following the principle of controlling variables.

With six chosen ones, at least tens of thousands of people would have been altered into game characters. How many such "casualties" would have been buried with those experimental works that existed but were not successful?

A wasteland continent, a game world, is like an experimental field shaped by a single hand, allowing a hidden hand to manipulate all life within it with unbridled patience, roaming around and waiting for the time to reap the rewards.

In the game, Guan Luoyang observes all of this, lives in the orchard, and discusses cultivation with Su Sheng and Qi Dongqiang.

In the real world, he has already sent people across the sea to deliver two boxes and a video message.

Because of the interference from Jiushan and his group, electronic communication between the two continents was cut off, leaving only primitive methods like manual mail transmission.

Fortunately, they used the fastest mode of transportation, so a round trip didn't take more than a whole day.

In the video, Guan Luoyang asked Yan Zhen and the others for some information. When the messenger returned, all the information was in Guan Luoyang's hands.

"Although I do have things like the essence blood of the Pangu Clan zombies around me, and it's highly infectious, it's not suitable for use in the online world."

Guan Luoyang browsed through the materials, his Vacuum Divine Power shifting and transforming in countless ways, simulating the situations in the materials and compiling data applicable to the online world. "It still has to be local research results, a targeted approach, and it can be used after some modifications."

He had already planned this out, and this information was the icing on the cake.

Not long after, Guan Luoyang in the game world walked out of the house and opened his palms under the shade of the trees.

A cluster of azure crystals appeared in his palm, like many irregular small crystals forming a whole. It had the luster of crystal and a solid texture, yet it was constantly changing shape like a liquid.

The Celestial Demon Electronic Version Crystal Virus, also known as the Ancient God Corpse Poison!

Two hours later in the game world, Yue Buqun, the great hero of Jiangnan, hurriedly logged on and headed to the orchard.

"Hero Yue".

Guan Luoyang suddenly appeared behind him and patted him on the shoulder. "Why are you in such a hurry? Is there any news?"

Hero Yue felt a chill run down his spine and shouted, "We have news! We couldn't track Zhao Lingtian's whereabouts, but just now, Zhuang Gujian got into a fight with him. Now, neither of them can escape our notice!"

Su Sheng pushed open the door and came out: "Did you finally find it?"

The great hero of Jiangnan, Yue Buqun, exclaimed excitedly, "The war is finally about to begin! Our forces are all ready!"

"Finally, we can start dealing with them."

Guan Luoyang also sighed and withdrew his hand.

The dark hand that shrouds the entire wasteland will be exposed within twelve hours.

(End of this chapter)